simonsays
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Preferred Game Systems: Shadowrun, GURPS
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Post by simonsays on Sept 22, 2013 22:54:41 GMT -8
I'm looking for a second pair of eyes to make sure I'm not misunderstanding a printed rule in 5th edition core rule book. I don't want to go screaming to the Catalyst forums until I am sure this is a mistake. On page 201 of the book at the top of the page it states that the GM may apply modifiers to a vehicle handling test based on terrain conditions. Then it provides a table for those modifiers. The values for the modifiers are additions to the dice pool rather than subtractions which would mean that as the terrain becomes more difficult the test would become easier, it seems obvious to me that someone hit the "plus" key instead of the "minus" while typing out the table, but I want to make sure I am not missing something here. I have to say I am worried there may be more (perhaps significantly more) misprints, making the decoding of an already complex system more so.
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maxinstuff
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Post by maxinstuff on Sept 23, 2013 0:44:32 GMT -8
It is not a mistake. The table on p 201 is listing example thresholds (target number of successes), not dice pool modifiers.
Hope that helps.
EDIT: double-checked and I think the table you speak of is the terrain modifiers table on pg 203. These are modifiers to the threshold, not the dice pool.
Easy mistake though, the very next table lists pool modifiers. I think the reasoning is terrain is the environment (threshold) and the others are to do with the character (thereby modifying the dice pool).
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simonsays
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 49
Preferred Game Systems: Shadowrun, GURPS
Favorite Species of Monkey: Howler
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Post by simonsays on Sept 23, 2013 8:57:45 GMT -8
Buy the paragraph before the table describes the intended use of the table and it says that the modifiers should be applied to the dice pool, not the threshold.
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simonsays
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 49
Preferred Game Systems: Shadowrun, GURPS
Favorite Species of Monkey: Howler
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Post by simonsays on Sept 23, 2013 8:58:07 GMT -8
*but not buy
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simonsays
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 49
Preferred Game Systems: Shadowrun, GURPS
Favorite Species of Monkey: Howler
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Post by simonsays on Sept 23, 2013 9:03:59 GMT -8
Btw I was referring to the terrain modifier table which is on pg 201 according to the PDF from DriveThruRpg, so it seems there may be a discrepancy between that and the meatspace book (if that's what you're using)
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Post by ayslyn on Sept 23, 2013 9:15:53 GMT -8
Bottom of page 199:
Additionally, the terrain in which the vehicle is traveling modifies the threshold of the vehicle test. Apply a modifier to the threshold based on the Terrain Modifier Table at right.
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simonsays
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Posts: 49
Preferred Game Systems: Shadowrun, GURPS
Favorite Species of Monkey: Howler
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Post by simonsays on Sept 23, 2013 9:21:54 GMT -8
Ok, I see what you're pointing out. Thanks for the help. It was that huge panel in between 199 and 201 splitting the that reference I half that messed me up. I'll need to be more mindful of some of the idiosyncrasies resulting from the layout.
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maxinstuff
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Post by maxinstuff on Sept 23, 2013 13:36:55 GMT -8
Yeah the layout really does seem very hard copy oriented.
Lots of 'see table at right' when it's on the next page, enourmous full page side bars, very long artwork that goes down one half of the page etc. etc.
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Post by ayslyn on Sept 23, 2013 16:10:57 GMT -8
That's because these PDFs (and it's not just Shadowrun) ARE the print PDFs that have been croped down to the normal page size.
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maxinstuff
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Post by maxinstuff on Sept 23, 2013 16:38:38 GMT -8
I'll be inrlterested to see if publishers don't start laying out books with the pdf in mind.
You would think they would be doing this already.....
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Post by ayslyn on Sept 23, 2013 17:11:26 GMT -8
There hasn't been any great movement that I know of. My old job did the same thing. Use the files that created the print book, crop and hyperlink the document. MAYBE add a different cover, just to highlight the difference.
To my knowledge, they're all still doing that. Some of the publishers of games, however, are moving away from the traditional two column layout that's dominated the format. FATE is one of the best layouts for game books, IMO. Very readable, even when not really formated for a tablet.
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jpk
Apprentice Douchebag
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Post by jpk on Oct 15, 2013 13:56:49 GMT -8
I'll be inrlterested to see if publishers don't start laying out books with the pdf in mind. You would think they would be doing this already..... I think it depends on where your money is and what your audience wants. I mostly laid out books whose main sales were physical copy. For books that were supplemental and PDF-only, people would howl like stuck pigs if the layout were different than the core book. Those two things tended to drive many of my layout decisions. For companies whose main sales are PDF, I think you are starting to see more of a shift to reader-friendly layouts. The rise of the single column, especially in roughly-digest-sized books, is significant and increasing. Most of us (and here I become the totally unelected spokesperson for a whole group that do not know I'm speaking for them, quite likely against their collective will) who come from a print background have some trouble overcoming those instincts. Learning what is essentially a new way of looking at books and your layout flow is not a quick, easy, or comfortably task. All of that, of course, is just my two cents. I'd give you my two kruppleniks, but I believe JiB used them all up.
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